Family Problems
by Ebony Witch
Summary: Harry and Ron make a brilliant escape from the Dursley's jail-cell of a house. They head for Hermione's, taking the Knight Bus, and meet a cousin of hers. When they turn up, she's not too happy to see him. Will the broken family get back together?


Disclaimer (or whatever you call whatever this is): Hi...as you've all guessed, I am not the owner of the ever awsome Harry Potter. If I was I'd be brilliant and I'd get an A in englesh class instead of just plain A. I do, however, own Dodger and Jack. Though Jak doesn't matter much. Enjoy  
  
Chapter One: Sneak Out  
  
"Lumos." Harry lit his wand and pulled the covers over his head. He was at the Dursley's, but not for long. Ron had promised a pick-up to...pick him up.  
He flipped through the pages of his 'Care of Magical Creatures' textbook carefully, bagging the Dursleys in the next room to stay asleep.  
"The Wyvern," he read aloud. "Appearing quite often in heraldry, the wyvern is a serpent-like dragon with wings. It has two legs on which eagles talons are placed. It's tail has a long barb to mark it's end. The wyvern symbolizes war, pestilence, envy and viciousness. It's—,"  
A thud on the window. Harry ignored it. "It's—,"  
Another thud.  
Harry got up and lifted the glass. "Who's there?!" he asked, irritated.  
"Oy! Harry! Down here!"  
"Ron!"  
"Grab your things and let's get out of here!" he whispered, loud enough for only Harry to hear.  
"Right." Harry stuffed his books and essay quickly into his bag and corked his inkbottle. He put that in there as well, along with a few eagle- feathered quills and a hippogriff's feather he had gotten in his third year at Hogwarts.  
"Alohomora," he whispered. The locks inside his old room clicked open and he dragged his trunk out, with Hedwig's cage perched on top. He unlocked the front door and pulled out his belongings. Ron ran around the corner of the house.  
"Round about time you got here," Harry said good-naturedly. "How are we getting to your place?"  
"The Knight Bus," Ron said, holding out his wand.  
"Oh no," Harry mumbled. His stomach sank, remembering past experiences with the magic triple-decker.  
"And who said we're going to my house?" Ron asked.  
"What?" Harry looked at him. "Where are we going, then?"  
  
"Hermione's! Bloody hell! This is the second time I've told you!"  
"Second? When was the first?" Harry asked.  
"In my letter," Ron replied.  
"What letter?"  
Hedwig swooped down and landed on Harry's shoulder. She had a letter tied to her leg and a dead mouse in one of her talons. She held her leg out so that he could take the parcel.  
"Thank you." He opened up the envelope. "It's from you," he said. "Says, 'Dear Harry, change of plans. Hermione's instead. Ron.' Very long letter," he added sarcastically.  
The Knight Bus pulled over to the side of the street and a young man stood in the open door way. "Welcome to the Knight Bus!" he recited, looking at the ceiling, "transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Dodger Nack, please don't ask, and I will be your conductor for this evening."  
"What happened to Stan?" Harry asked.  
"Stan does Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I do Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, we take shifts on Friday," he informed them. He finally looked down at them. "Common in."  
Ron and Harry climbed the steps and took the bed nearest to the door.  
  
Dodger brought the trunk into the bus and heaved it onto the rack above them, strapping it in tight. "Hit the road, Jack!" he said, grabbing hold of a pole. A loud bang and they were no longer in Privet Drive.  
"Wannit just Stan n' Ern?" Ron asked.  
"It's Friday! We switched shifts!" Dodger explained. "You weren't listening to me were you?"  
"I was," Harry said.  
"Good on ya!" Dodger laughed. "How long is red's attention span?"  
"Name's Ron, thanks. Not Red."  
  
"And yours?" Dodger asked.  
"Harry Pot—," Harry trailed off. "Oops."  
"Oh, so you're the famous Potter, are you?" he asked.  
Harry nodded.  
"Were you boys headed then?" Dodger asked.  
"Uh...where does Hermione live?" Ron asked Harry.  
"How am I supposed to know! I can't believe you didn't ask her!" Harry snapped.  
"Well I'm sorry! Can't think of everything now, can I?" Ron asked.  
"Well if you're going to someone's house, you got to know the address don't you? They sort of go hand in hand!" Harry barked.  
"Quit shouting you two! You'll wake everyone up," Dodger hissed, pushing them apart. "Now. This girl, Hermione, is her last name Granger by any chance?"  
"Yeah," Ron answered.  
"Bushy curly hair?"  
  
"Yeah."  
"Knows too much for her own good?"  
"Yeah!"  
"Dentists for parents? Muggles?"  
"YEAH!"  
"Hush! You'll wake up the whole island!" Dodger repeated. "You two are lucky I know her," he continued. "Hermione's Jack!"  
"How do you know her...exactly?" Ron asked.  
"She's my cousin," he replied. "Next stop, the Grangers' place."  
The bus skidded to a halt and the door slid open.  
Ron and Harry jumped out, closely followed by Dodger, lugging their luggage behind him.  
"It's about time you two!" Hermione said, running out of her house and into the light street.  
Her eyes traveled up to Dodger and the smile on her face was replaced by a frown. "Oh," she said. "It's you."  
"Nice to see you too," Dodger mumbled. "If everyone's okay here, I'll be going."  
"Good ridden," Hermione said under her breath, rolling her eyes.  
Dodger stopped in his tracks for a few seconds, then chose to ignore her and went back into the bus. "Night Harry. Night Ron...Hermione." And the Knight left with a loud bang. 


End file.
